Antharism
Antharism is a religion that is commonly found in Northeast Oleran. Believers worship a deity named Antharus that, while omnipotent, only chooses to interact with the world on rare occasions. They believe that Antharus has a pantheon of lower divinities beneath him that do interact with the world but are far less powerful and even mortal. Antharan Clerics practice healing and protection magic though they never use it in a military context. Main Tenets Antharism is based on the relationship between the individual and the community. The teachings state that every sentient being is their own master and that the way that they live their lives is entirely their decision. Because of this belief, Antharans on principle do not proselytize their religion and do not blame non believers because to them it does not matter if they worship Antharus or not, he will be omnipotent no matter what they do. However, there are exceptions to their support of the individuals rights. Firstly, an individual's acts can only be forgiven so long as he does not harm another. Secondly, Antharans hold the laws of the community in high regard. This is not necessarily the law of the land but rather the social coventions of a group of people. Therefore they believe that any person can do whatever they please in private, but in public they must follow social norms so long as they are near universal within the community. This goes for any community in the world. An Antharan community in one region may have completely different social norms than one in another region but they nonetheless respect the rules of any community. This dichotemy can be described by the Antharan saying: "Salvation is gained from within but can only be achieved by stability from without." The individual is important to Antharans but they realize the strength that a united community has and therefore value greatly and deeply held customs. One result of this dichotemy is that Antharans see stark differences between groups of people and often are not willing to allow others into their communities. It also leads them to be very conservative. They tend to reject any kind of change within any community and see change as a purely dangerous force that leads to nothing but hardship. Because of their intense conservatism, Antharans tend to dislike warfare, seeing it as a disturbence of the inherently peacful world. 'Temples' Antharan temples are generally small square buildings made of whatever materials locals find abundant. One feature that they all have in common is an enclosure in the center of the building of varying size deoending on the means of the community. The enclosure has no roof and is filled with plants and trees. Some are well kept gardens while others seem more like tiny sections of deep woodlands. Only one person is allowed in the sanctuary at any given time. This individual may not be disturbed, even if they have committed a crime and seek asylum. Only one day a week during the weekly ceremony and during feast days are multiple people allowed in the sanctuary. Antharan Mythology The mythology of the Antharan religion is not entirely endorsed by its clergy who instead use it mostly to tell moral tales. However, the greater populations of Antharan regions usually focus more on the stories than the theology that the clergy finds so important. Category:Religions